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NPR, DC
July 31 2005
Ten Larger-Than-Life Memoirs
Audio for this story will be available at approx. 10:00 a.m. ET
Author M.G. Lord, the daughter of a rocket engineer at the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., weaves together the story
of her family's life with that of the scientific journey to explore
Mars. Walker & Company
Morning Edition, August 1, 2005 · Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl
recommends books to Morning Edition listeners from time to time. Her
theme for this installment is the memoir.
Pearl has recommended 10 books. She says that she avoids
self-indulgent memoirs. What she looks for in a personal story is
wonderful writing first, and then context that makes the book
relevant to the wider world.
British aristocrat Jessica Mitford's Hons and Rebels is at the top of
Pearl's book pile. One of seven children, Mitford was a woman who
developed socialist beliefs even while two of her siblings became
attached to fascist ideas in the years before World War II. Mitford
developed into an accomplished journalist and applies those skills to
this book.
Black Dog of Fate is Peter Balakian's tale of growing up Armenian in
New Jersey. His story is a journey of personal discovery centered on
the 1915 genocide that may have killed as many as one million
Armenians.
Going Back to Bisbee is a story that captures the beauty of the
desert through the story of a trip in Arizona, a state author Richard
Shelton has lived in since the 1950s.
Author M.G. Lord captures the detached, male culture of the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in her book Astro Turf. Lord's interest in the
JPL is personal. Her father was an engineer there working on Mars
exploration as she grew up in California.
Floyd Skloot's In the Shadow of Memory is a collection of essays
detailing Skloot's experience of losing his memory after being
infected by a virus. Gracefully written, the book also chronicles
Skloot's struggle to regain memories lost to the illness.
The other memoirs recommended by Pearl are: Rain or Shine by Cyra
McFadden; Hole in the Sky by William Kittredge; How I Became Hettie
Jones by Hettie Jones; Minor Characters by Joyce Johnson and Mountain
City by Gregory Martin.
July 31 2005
Ten Larger-Than-Life Memoirs
Audio for this story will be available at approx. 10:00 a.m. ET
Author M.G. Lord, the daughter of a rocket engineer at the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., weaves together the story
of her family's life with that of the scientific journey to explore
Mars. Walker & Company
Morning Edition, August 1, 2005 · Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl
recommends books to Morning Edition listeners from time to time. Her
theme for this installment is the memoir.
Pearl has recommended 10 books. She says that she avoids
self-indulgent memoirs. What she looks for in a personal story is
wonderful writing first, and then context that makes the book
relevant to the wider world.
British aristocrat Jessica Mitford's Hons and Rebels is at the top of
Pearl's book pile. One of seven children, Mitford was a woman who
developed socialist beliefs even while two of her siblings became
attached to fascist ideas in the years before World War II. Mitford
developed into an accomplished journalist and applies those skills to
this book.
Black Dog of Fate is Peter Balakian's tale of growing up Armenian in
New Jersey. His story is a journey of personal discovery centered on
the 1915 genocide that may have killed as many as one million
Armenians.
Going Back to Bisbee is a story that captures the beauty of the
desert through the story of a trip in Arizona, a state author Richard
Shelton has lived in since the 1950s.
Author M.G. Lord captures the detached, male culture of the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in her book Astro Turf. Lord's interest in the
JPL is personal. Her father was an engineer there working on Mars
exploration as she grew up in California.
Floyd Skloot's In the Shadow of Memory is a collection of essays
detailing Skloot's experience of losing his memory after being
infected by a virus. Gracefully written, the book also chronicles
Skloot's struggle to regain memories lost to the illness.
The other memoirs recommended by Pearl are: Rain or Shine by Cyra
McFadden; Hole in the Sky by William Kittredge; How I Became Hettie
Jones by Hettie Jones; Minor Characters by Joyce Johnson and Mountain
City by Gregory Martin.